


Strength

by Romanova227



Series: Stolen Moments [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 18:04:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7902478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romanova227/pseuds/Romanova227
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first entry in what I hope will be a series of "stolen moments" that flesh out the C/Lexa relationship in more detail than the show.  This one occurs between the best and worst scenes of 3x07, where Clarke has to go and Lexa can't stand to watch her leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strength

"I should go."

Clarke reached out to caress Lexa's face as she lay gently on top of her, her face pressed against Clarke's abdomen. She slowly ran her fingers through the beautiful dark waves of Lexa's hair, smiling as Lexa tucked her hands beneath Clarke's waist, pulling herself even tighter against Clarke's body. Clarke relished the weight of her love upon her, their bodies deliciously spent as they lay together on silk sheets and richly soft furs. Sunlight streamed through the latticed windows of Lexa's apartment, it's bright warmth mixing with ambient candlelight to bathe them in what Clarke mused was the most romantic setting she had ever seen. She may as well have been dreaming.

Lexa let out a moan of disapproval as Clarke started to pull her hand away. She placed a soft kiss to her palm before looking up to meet her eyes. Clarke nearly felt herself faint. Those eyes, with that piercing, verdant gaze, were fixed so intently at her that it took Clarke's breath away. When they met only a few short months ago, Lexa's eyes were full of fire and strength, austere with a kind of ferocity that made her look almost feral. But now, she thought, they looked calm, tinged with a sort of sadness, pleading for something Lexa was perhaps too afraid to put into words.

Clarke loved her. She loved the way Lexa's expressions always betrayed her deepest emotions, if you just knew where to look. Even before she could admit her feelings to herself, Clarke could see the cracks in Lexa's hardened exterior. But that was when Lexa was the Commander, Heda of the Blood, a fearsome warrior and protector of her people. Now, resting here beneath Lexa's welcome weight, Clarke could only think of Lexa as the woman she loved, the woman who had stolen her heart out a place of bitter cold and darkness. Lexa was her light, and in this moment, she did not belong to the 12 clans or to her people, Lexa was just hers, and hers alone.

"I want," Lexa caught herself as if she was about to bare an unforgivable secret. She pressed her lips tightly together and swallowed hard. Her eyes fluttered and she briefly looked away, searching for her words. Lexa spoke deliberately, seemingly resolute with her decision, but Clarke heard the way her voice broke at the mention of her own name:

"I want to keep you safe, Clarke. If this is the only way, then I will do what I must to protect you."

Clarke couldn't help but grin at Lexa's selflessness, unwilling to even ask her to stay if it meant that Clarke would be swayed from helping her people, again.

"I know, Lexa."

Clarke paused a moment, running her thumb along Lexa's well-defined cheekbone. Lexa sighed deeply, shutting her eyes tightly as Clarke trailed her fingertips along the curves of her face, as if Lexa was fighting to hold onto this moment, just a little longer.

"And that's why you're you."

Lexa raised her head and knotted her brow in a thoughtful look, one that Clarke knew too well. Clarke had known how Lexa felt about her from very early on in their relationship. It was true that Clarke didn't want to admit to herself what Lexa had felt for her, that she cared for her, but every glance exchanged between the Commander and Clarke revealed her thinly veiled desires. Her own heart stirred at the way Lexa would speak to her, as if they were the only two people in the world. She had ached to reach out and touch Lexa the first time she spoke of Costia's death, but she had been too afraid of her own desperation - that she would only have been seeking her own comfort after losing Finn.

Clarke's attachment to Lexa only grew from there. She thought of the long conversations in her Heda's war tent, the meals they shared in private, the way Lexa dismissed her own people whenever she summoned Clarke to give her opinion on some weighty matter - all signs of Lexa's closely guarded trust in Clarke, despite all of their differences. It seemed as though Lexa had always trusted Clarke with her vulnerability, her heart, and their attraction to each other was almost palpable. At least, Clarke was sure it was, to everyone who saw them together.

Clarke thought of how flustered she felt walking around the grounder encampment when Lexa first revealed how strongly she felt for her, how transparent and open she must have appeared to the Commander's warriors as she tried to look uncaring, focused solely on her people. But she was consumed by the thought of Lexa, the way she tasted, the delicate but firm hold on her neck as she pulled them together.  Their first kiss had been electrifying, but Clarke had felt ashamed at herself, at her seemingly needy desire so soon after losing someone she loved. In spite of her hesitation, Lexa's eyes brimmed with hope and threatened to overflow at Clarke's whispered "not yet."

With everything that had happened between them, Clarke could not bring herself to show her love for Lexa until now, this very evening, overwhelmed by the silent promise in Lexa's _that's why you're you_ and in her desperate hope of _may we meet again_. Even then, Clarke couldn't surrender her heart to Lexa completely, not until she had saved her people for what she hoped would be the last time. Another _not yet_ , Clarke thought. But, just like before, she knew Lexa had heard the precious affirmation of her affection in that echoed statement.

Now, Lexa's eyes positively radiated with a joyous hope, and Clarke smiled warmly in return. Empowered by Clarke's silent assertion, Lexa slowly began placing kisses along Clarke's middle, tracing a line as she moved up Clarke's body. The heat of Lexa's mouth against her skin and the way she dragged herself against Clarke's body, moving tortuously slow with each lingering kiss, made Clarke melt deeper into the bed.

Clarke inhaled sharply, fisting tightly at the sheets around her as Lexa found one breast, then the other, smiling a little to herself between kisses at the obvious effect she was having on her lover. When Lexa finally locked eyes with Clarke again, her face hovering only inches above, Clarke felt the air go out of her lungs. Clarke looked up at her in wonder, her eyes heavy with longing.

"Lexa, you are so beautiful."

Before Clarke could even catch her breath, Lexa was holding her face between her elegant hands, bringing their lips together in a tender kiss. Their sadness was fading, gradually replaced by a stronger sense of hope each time Lexa pulled apart to look at her before catching her mouth in a powerful kiss.

Clarke knew that if Lexa had only asked her to stay again, just once, she wouldn't have the strength to leave. Her people needed her, and she would fulfill her duty to them, as she had promised, but Clarke knew that her heart would never belong to her people, ever again. Clarke's heart, her home, was here now, in Polis - she felt it in the steadily increasing throb in her chest, and the mirrored pulsing she could feel emanating from the trembling woman in her arms.

When the two of them finally separated their mouths for want of air, Lexa placed her last kiss to Clarke's forehead. Clarke shivered beneath her lips, unsure whether it was from Lexa's touch or the sudden realization of the cooling sweat on her naked skin. Lexa gracefully pulled herself away from Clarke, covering her exposed body with the sheets as Clarke moved to the edge of the bed.

Clarke searched for her scraps of clothing that had been strewn about the floor, occasionally tugging at pieces that were tangled with something of Lexa's.

Clarke couldn't conceal her smug grin at the thought of Lexa's hurried excitement, the frenzy with which she tore off every one of Clarke's garments that her hands could find, tossing them carelessly at the floor, completely swept up in a fit of passion. It was a memory that Clarke would treasure forever, one that would keep her especially warm on the cold nights ahead in Arkadia, made colder still by the absence of her love at her side.

Clarke reluctantly put on each article slowly, deliberately. She fought desperately to do what her head demanded even when her heart begged her to stay in bed, to wrap herself up in the embrace of Lexa's love and let the outside world just disappear.

When Clarke was fully dressed, she sat quietly at the edge of the bed, trying to convince herself to stand, to walk away from the woman who now held onto her soul. Lexa took advantage of Clarke's hesitation and moved over to her, wrapping her arms tightly around Clarke's waist from behind.

Lexa whispered against Clarke's neck, "Come back to me. Soon."

Clarke shut her eyes tightly and turned her face toward Lexa, trying not to focus on the intoxicating feeling of the warm breath on the nape of her neck or the firm breasts she could feel pressed against her back through her thin shirt, or the strong, sinewy arms that held her so close.

"I will. I promise, always."

With that, Clarke clutched at the hands holding her and brought each of Lexa's wrist to her lips, a short but affectionate goodbye. _For now_ , she thought. She then carefully moved Lexa's hands from around her so she could stand.

As she stepped towards the door, Clarke was afraid to turn around lest her fragile resolve be broken by the sight of Lexa, naked, in every sense of the word, in their bed, with what she imagined could only be an expression of painful defeat. She swallowed hard and reached for the door handle. With all her strength she turned to give one last look at Lexa. Just as she had feared, Lexa was a vision: tanned skin draped in silken sheets that clung to her every curve, waves of brown and golden-highlighted hair that cascaded over her neck and shoulders. An almost childish pout pulled at Lexa's lips and made Clarke's knees weak beneath her weight. A sudden rush filled Clarke's heart, adrenaline coursing through her arms and into her fingertips. She had promised herself that she would save her words until she returned, until she could finally be with Lexa, unencumbered by the needs of her people. But even as she started to move through the doorway, her lips surrendered to the incessant pounding in her chest.

"I love you."

 


End file.
